Machine for labeling hand stamps



Dec. 15- 1925. 1,565,419

`.L COOKE MACHINE FOR LABELING H AND STAMPS Filed'July 14. 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet l iii--. Nmlmu 1 l Ilvlfnfvfvfl.. I l I I l l I I I I I l I l I O l I I I l I I I I l I I Dx. 15, 1925l 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 aww/why:

JAMES COOKE M J. COOKE MACHINE FOR LABELING HAND STAMPS Filed July 14.

Dec.I vl5, 1925l J. COOKE MACHINE FOR LA-BELING HAND STAMPS Filed July 14. 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 gum Moz Jams Cbolczz.

Patented Dec. 15, 1925.

JAMES COKE, F OMAHA, EBRASKA.

MACHINE FOR LABELING HAND STAMPS.

Application filed July 14, .1924. Serial No. 725,927;

T0 all 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JAMES COOKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Omaha, in the county of Douglas and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and l useful Improvements in Machines for Labeling Hand Stamps, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to machines for labeling hand-stamps, and is particularly intended for use with label-holders of the kind disclosed in Letters Patent No. 1,511,028, issued ,to me October 7 1924, and when such label holders have been applied to the blocks or mounts of the hand-stamps by the means shown in my companionnapplication iiled July 14, '71924, Serialv No. 725,926. It is the object of my inventionto provide a mechanism to facilitate ,the printing of labels for hand-stamps directlynfrom the stamps themselves, after the same have been mounted; to facilitate theinsertion of the printed label into the label-holder upon the stamp-mount or block; to facilitate the insertion into the label-holder of atransparent protective strip, over the label therein; to provide means for shearing off the label strip and the protective strip after the same have been inserted inthe holder; and to provide means for crimping in the points of the flanges at the open end of the labelholder to permanently retain the labeland protective strip therein. The machine herein disclosed, in Combination with my labelholders, and the means for'applying the holders to stamp-mounts as set forth in the companion application, constitute a highly efficient group of devices, by means of which clean, sightl and substantially permanent labels may e applied to hand-stamps, at a cost so small as to enable the use of such labels on all hand-stamps used upon the ordinary Wooden mounts.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a front view of a labeling machine embodying my invention, Fig. 2 is a plan View of the same, Fig. 3 is an end View thereof, Fig. 4 is a detail longitudinal vertical section on the plane of the line %4` of Fig'. 5, Fig. 5`

is a detail transverse vertical section on the plane of the lines 5 5 of Figs. 1 and 4, Fig. 6 is a vertical section on the line 6 6 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 7 is a vertical section on the line 7 7 of Fig. 1.

In the illustrated embodiment ofmy in-' vention, the main frame-member 10 is se- 'stamp-mounts.

cured by screws 11 to the rear .portion of a base-plate 12.y The front portion of said base-plate has a shallow rectangular recess 13 therein for holding an ink-pad in convenient position for use in inking the stamps, when the same are to be used to print. the labels whichare applied tothe The upper portion of the frame-member 10y is extended forwardly, as best represented in Fig. 8, so as to overhang the adjacent portion ofthe base-plate, and upon said projecting or overhanging upper part'of the member are the heads 14, 15 and 16, having horizontally alined upper surfaces yon which the bar 17 is secured by screws 18. On the upper side of said bar 17 is secured the channel-bar 19, which has inwardly turned langes 2O at its upper edges, as shown in Fig. 6. Said channelbar 19 is employed to hold and guide the paper strip L on which the labels are printed, and also to guide vthe transparent protective strips Gand C which are used to cover theprinted labels. The strips C are contained in a magazine of which the lower portion isv formed by a horizontally disposed rectangular tube 21. Said magazinetubev has a closed end which is securedupon the base-plateA 12 beneath the heads 14 and 15 and against the front side of the frame-member 10, the main portion of the tube extending laterally of the base-plate as shown'in Fig. 1, and being provided with a foot 22 adapted to rest upon the support, such asl a table 'or bench, upon which the base-plate is placed. At the open end of the magazine-tube,'adjacent tothe foot 22, is apivot-screw 23 on which is mounted the throat-piece 24. The latter is normally in the vertical position shown in Fig. 1, whereby the end portions .of the strips C are caused tofbe turned up vertically, the curvature of the strips on different radii, at the portions connecting the horizontal and vertical parts, causing the projecting ends thereofto be ysuccessively offset, and thus facilitating the withdrawal of single strips from the magazine. For convenience in filling the magazine, the throat-piece is turned down to ahorizontal position, at which a pile of the strips may be readily inserted through the same into .the tube 21, and the throat-piece then turned up to the normal vertical position. Y

To the rear side of the magazine-tube 21,

loo

adjacentthe inner end of the throat-piece,

is secured a standard which extends up vertically therefrom, and upon'said standard are the horizontal pins 26 and 27 which project forwardly therefrom,A and at their front ends are shouldered, threaded, and have wing-nuts 2S screwed' on the threaded portions. Disposed concentrically about said pins 26 and 27 are the drums or casings 29 and 30, of which the front sides are removable, said removable sides being normally held in place 'by' the wing-nuts 28. Nithin the drums,- and fitting revolubly upon thev pins 26 and 27, are spools or continuousl coils'of vthe strips L and C, from which the ends extend out through openings therefor in the peripheral edges of the drums, said openingsbe'ing formed' between small curled ends *31 on the metal strips from which the sides of the drums are made.

To the endvofthe frame-head 14 is secured a bracket-member 32 having a lat upper' face which is alined horizontally with the bottom of the channel in the bar 19. Between the flanges at the lower por'- tion ofA said bracket-member is revolubly mounted a disk orvroller 33 having av forwardly extending shaft or stem terminating in a knurled knob orhandle 34T by which the roller may be'turned.A- The upper portion of said roller extends through an openingin the upper part the bracket, and is engaged by a small'x friction-roller 35 which is 'revolubly mountedbetween lugs 36 extending up at the front'and rear sides of the bracket,"aks'sho`wn. At the end of the bracket adjacent to the drinn 29 are in-l turned Alianges 37, similar to the flanges 20 onthe 'channel-bar 19; andthe Vstrip L from said 4drum 29 ispassedf under said flanges, and between the rollers 33 andY 35, thence into thev channel-'bar '19 beneath theflanges 20to which'thestrip may be fed by'turn-n ing the handle'34 ofthe feed-roller 33. When the strip C from the drum is to be used, said'strip is carried above/'the rollerV 35 and entered directly into the channel at the end of' the bar 19, as shown. AguideA loop 38 is provided atthe upper side ofthe drum 29, through Vwhich the strips C are passed, as shown vby dotted lines in F ig. 1,

when saidstrips C are to: be usedin place` of the strip C, and saidfstrips Care extended from the guide-loop,above'theroller 35 and into lthe end of the'channel19, in the same manner as the continuous strip C.

At the lower side of the bar 17, between. the heads 15and 16, are verticallyextendingscrews 39, about which aren disposefclv small coil springs lSaid springs 40 yieldinglyy support a table consisting of horizontal frontand rear portions 41, and,

an intermediate vLil-shaped portion 42-A which` passes around beneath the bar '17,' the ybottom part 'of lsaid "ll-portion having openings through which the screws 39 extend loosely, and the springs 40 normally hold saidbottom part up against the lower side of the bar 17. Then in normal position, the horizontal upper portions 41 of the table are at a level slightly above the upper side of the channel-bar 19, and by downward pressure upon said upper portions, sulicient to compress the springs 40, the table may be depressed to a level slightly below the upper side of the channel-bar.

Inu the frameeheads 14 and 15 are secured the ends of a pair of guide-rods 43 which extend horizontally rearward therefrom. Upon said rods is mounted the gage-head, which consists of a pair of sleeves 44 fitting slidably upon the rods and connected' to'each other by a cross-bar 45 formed integrally therewith. Near the front end" of each of the sleeves 44 is an upwardly extending tubular lug 46, oiA which the vopening is closedat the upper end by a screw-plug 47 Adjoining the rod 43, at the bottom of the opening through the tubular lug is a ball 48 which is pressed yieldingly downward againstv therod by a small spring 49'V disposed in the passage between the ball' and the screw-plug 47. N ear their rear ends the guide-rods 43 have notches 5() therein, into which the ball 48 may drop to limit' rearward movement of the gage-head thereon. At other positions of the gagefheadthe balls serve to frictionally retainthe same ad justed relation'to the rods. Extending forwardly and'rearwardly from the cross-bar 45 are 'stems 51, terminating in small knobs 52 which may bey conveniently grasped to push or pull :the head forwarder' back upon the rods. Integral lingers 53, extendedup# wardly and forwardly from the lugs 46, carry the gage-bar 54 which extends hori-. zontally between. said lingers, and has a portion which; projects over the rear partv of the depressible table 41. The front'face of the gage-bar is parallel with thev channel-` bar 19, and Vserves to aline the stamp-mounts or blocks with the label-strip held in said channel.

rllhe frame-head 16 has formed integrally therewith a forwardly extending lug 55 of which the outer side-face is vertical. Onv saidouter face of the lugu55 is secured a thick plate having arectangular vertical portion 56, said plate-portion extending above the upper edge of the lug, and from said upper partlof the vertical portion 56. a horizontal portion V57 extends rearwardly.y Screws 5S passsthrough the vertical plateportion ,to attach the same to the lug The lower edgelof the horizontal Yportion orV armv 57 vis ata level such as to be. substair tially in horizontal alinement with the upper edge of the channel-bark), and'at thel end of saidl armis an inturned flange59 which is alined with the rear iange 2O ofsaid channel-bar. A thin plate 60 issecured ronv the lower side of the arm 57 and projects laterally therefrom, the rear edge of said plate having a flange 61 extending oppositely to the flange 59, so that between said flanges 59 and 61 there is formed apassage which is open at the lower side, said passage being adapted to receive therein portions of the label-holding channels while the same are attached to the blocks or stamp-mounts on which they are used,fand to hold said label-holding channels in ali'nement with the passage through the channel-bar 19'. The vertical side-face Vof the lug 55 is shouldered or. recessed adjacent to its upperv edge to receive the fixed shear-blade 62, which adjoins the ends of the bars 17 and 19, the sharpened upper edge of said blade being slightly above the bottom of the channel through said bar 19, but below the inturned flanges 20 kof said bar. The movable shear-blade63 fits within a recess therefor 'formed at the inner side of the plate-member 57 and the upper part 'of the member or portion 56, said blade 63 being pivoted on a screw 61 near the front edge of said member 56. At the upper edge of the blade 63 a flange 65 isfturned out over the top of the, arm 57 and between said flange and arm is arranged a coil spring 66 which presses upwardly on the flange and normally kholds the blade in the raised position shownin Figs. 3, -1 and 5, The inner side of the arm 57 is recessed 'adjoining its vupper edge to receive the crimping-lever 67 whichv fits movablyin said recess, adjacent to the outer side of the shear-blade 63. Said lever 67 is pivoted at itsfront end on a screw k68 eX- tended through thearm 57, and at the rear end of the lever is an upwardly extending knob 69. A small coil spring 70, disposed in a cavity in the upper part of the plateportion 56, engages the lower side of the lever 67 and normally holds the same in the raised position shown. At the side ofthe lever 67 adjoining the shear-blade 63, ,and

positioned longitudinally of the lever as shown in Fig. 5, is the crimping-plate 7l which has at its lower edge the lugs 72, the latter being adapted to engage and crimp down the ends of the inturned flanges of a label-holding channel when the latter is held in the passage between the flanges 59 and 61, with its end adjoining the shear-blades.

The upper side of the bar 17, from the central portion thereof to the end adjoining the shear-blades,is recessed to form a passage for receiving the ejector-bar 73, which is slidable longitudinally in said passage beneath the channel-bar 19, one endof the bar extending through an opening in the fixedJ shear-blade 62, and the other end of the bar having a forwardly extending lug 74 which projects from the front'side lofY the bar 17 to form a handle by which the ejector may be moved. Normally the ejector applied to the mount by the means described in my companion application f hereinbefore referred to, the channel-flanges are crimped down or closed at the rightk end of the channel, while. at the left end the flanges are in the normal forni, or open to receive the label. Itk will also ybe understood that .the blocks or stamp-mounts are of various lengths and widths, according to the dimensions of the lrubber stamps carried thereby, and that the channels. or label-holders and the labels containedtherein must beof. uniform width, to correspond with the uniform thickness of thevblocksto which they are secured. `When the stamps are relatively narrow, or of a width not greater than the width of the label-strip, the entire lettering or other indicia printed by *the stamp,

'may be shown on the label; but whenthe side of the block or mount is againstsaid gage-bar the desired portion of the stamp will be in register with the channel between the flanges 20 of the bar 19. The adjustment of the gage-bar is conveniently effectedfby pushing or pulling upon one of the knobs 52, to appropriately move the,

gage-head, the stamp-mount being meanwhile disposed endwise upon the depressible table 4:1, the handle extendingout to the right as indicated by the dotted ylines A in Fig. l. In this position the bottom or printing face ofthe stamp may be observed,

and the desired portion thereof aline'd with the channel-bar 19, the gage-bar then being setto a position for engaging the rear side ofthe mount. A portion of the ypaper strip LA from the drum 29 is constantly in the guide-channel beneath the flanges 20, and a portion of one of the cover-strips C or C is also in said channel, overlying the strip L. Before printing the .label the overlying cover-stripl is pushed back, or to the left, far enough to expose a suitable length of the strip L, said movement of the coverstrip vbeing effected by frictionally engaging the proper alinement` is secured,l and thenf the label is printed by pressing the stamp down with sufficient force to depress the table and to force the utilized portion of the stamp down between the flanges 2() to engage the strip L held thereby.v The printing position of the stamp is indicated by the dotted lines B in Fig. 1, and in Fig. @the stamp is shown resting upon the table ready for the printing operation.

the mount so that the handle extends rearwardly and the label-holding channel is at the upper side; and the left or open end of the channel is then inserted in the passage between the flanges 459 andy (Sl, the insertion of the channel in said passage being` facilitated by first placingl the forward edgeofV the channel against the flange 6l on the portion of the plate 60 which projects laterally or to the right of the arm 57. The mount in the label-receiving position is represented at D in Fig. Q, and in said position the label-holderl isv longitudinally alined with the channel-bar 19, their adjacent ends being in such proximity that when the labelstrip is moved to the right its end will enter the holder; Movement of the label-strip is effected by turning the handle 34 of the feed-roller 33, the movement of the strip being continued until its end reaches the closed, right-hand end of the holder'. cover-strip is then pushed through the guide-channel, by pressing the lingers against the upper surface of said strip as before described, until the end of the cover strip has also reached the closed end of the holder and thus overlies the label-strip throughout its length. The shear-blade is then depressed by pushing down on the' flange 65, and both thelabel and cover-strip'- are thereby sheared off at the open left-'hand end of the holder. yThe knob G9l of the crimping-lever' is then forcibly' depressed, so that the lugs 7 2 of the crimping-plate are engaged with the holder-flanges, and theA Vlatter crimped in to retain the label and cover-strip in the holder'. The ejector'- handle 7 4l is then moved to the'right, where-V by the end of the ejector-bar 7 3 is engaged with the end of the stamp 1nount, and the 65., latter pushed out far enough to release the holder from the flange The protruded y After the label is printed as described, the operator turns position of the ejector-bar is shown in Figs. l and et.

It will' be seen that all of the described operations may be performed in rapid sequence, or almost as quickly as the stampmount can be transferred from one position to another. In fact the right hand of the operator may be constantly employed for holding and moving the stamp-mount, grasping the handle of the mount from start to finish of the labelingvoperation. On first picking up the unlabelled stamp, the mount is held in the position A"(Fig. l) during the setting of the gage-bar; then the stamp is inked while the left hand .is employed in pulling back the cover-strip to expose the label-strip for printing; then the stamp is placed in the position Brindicated in Fig. l, and pressed down to print the label; then the mount `is transferred to the label-receiving position shown at D in Fig. 2, the label fed into the holder, the coverstrip fed in over the'label, the shear-blade pushed down to cut off the two strips which have been inserted in the holder, the crimp-y ing-lever depressed to close the flanges at the open end of theholder, and finally the mount is pushed out and freed by the operation of the ejector-bar.

With reference to the transparent protective strips C and C it will be understood that either of the same may be used, according to the form which is most readily obtainable. The strip C, being in a continuous roll, is preferable as being the most convenient to use. The continuous-roll strip is not always obtainable, however, VWhereas the transparent material is almost always available in sheets from Which the strips C may be cut to the desired dimensions. rlhe material in the protective stripsL may be celluloid, although a suitable and less expensive material is now in the market under the name of cellophane.

Now, having described my invention, what l claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. In a machine of the class described, means for guiding` and supporting a label strip while exposing one side of said strip to receive the imprint of a stamp, means for retaining a mounted label-holder channel in alinenient with said guiding and sup'- porting means to receive a label-strip therefrom, and shearing means arranged to sever the label-strip at a point intermediate said channel-retaining means and said stripguiding and supporting means.

2. A structure as set forth inclaim l, including a depressible table arranged to yieldingly ysupport a stamp at a position above the strip-guiding and supporting means.

3. A structure as set forth in claim l, including a depressible table arranged to yieldingly support a stamp at a position Y above the strip-guiding and supporting means, and adjustable means for gaging the position of the stamp upon the depressible table laterally of the guiding and supporting means.

4. A. structure as set forth in claim l, including a depressible table arranged to yieldingly support a stamp at a position above the strip-guiding and supporting means, and adjustable means for gaging the position of the stamp upon said table laterally of the guiding and supporting means, the shearing means having a portion arranged to gage the position of the stamp longitudinally of the strip-guiding and supporting means. Y

5. A structure as set forth in claim l, including flange-crimping means engageable yWith a label-holding-channel When the latter is held by the retaining means therefor.

vwherein the means for guiding and supporting the label-strip is adapted to receive also a protective strip overlying the label-strip and slidable relative thereto Within the guiding means.

' JAMES COOKE. 

